Singapore

(Nick) For less than $30 we skipped the train system and hopped a flight from KL Airport. (Which is under construction). The posted ticket price was $7 taxes and fees did the rest of the damage. And for an extra $2 I upgraded us to front row window seats. Booking the international flight from my cellphone the night before kept us moving right along the SE Asian Peninsula. And the cute girl in the seat ahead of me gave me something to smile about.   

(Holly) I like that smile.

(Nick) Honestly one of the most beautiful flights I've been on. Perfect conditions. Floated most of the way on sun soaked cotton balls. 

(Holly) This was one of the most beautiful flights I have taken.

Someone must have painted that. 

(Nick) The Singapore Armada.

(Holly) My mind went straight to the game Battleship.

 That jungle almost look manicured. This is different. 

(Nick) From our first steps. It felt like a welcoming place.

(Holly) It was obvious that this was going to be the most Westernized location I had experience in many months.

(Nick) Then we found some friends. My cousin Katie and Lionel who live in Singapore. Home field for Lionel. Katie and Lionel were incredibly gracious hosts. As you'll see. They pretty much took our hands and showed us as much of Singapore as possible in two and a half days. It can be disorientating to jump from place to place every couple days and finding a few friendly faces at the airport to show us the town was a fantastic way to see the little country... Big city.

(Nick) We met Katie and Lionel under the Meet Up sign at the Singapore airport. The first order of business was food. They grabbed us a cab and whisked us away to the a Singapore diner. Their specialty was laksa. Looks tasty doesn't it?  I'd describe it as chicken noodle soup with seafood. Blood cockles yum.

(Holly) I would describe it as a coconut-based curry soup with noodles and seafood, cockles. It had a very mild spiciness to it. It was a nice start to local food and in good company. We were informed that this was a popular spot for real laksa. You could order small, medium and large bowls of. A month prior I actually experienced a Thai version of the soup. It was much spicier and with shrimp, no cockles.

After that we headed back to their place. Our new home away from home. 

They even have a nice quiet view of the city. 

Which makes for a great place to rest for a bit. 

(Nick) After relaxing for an hour or so Katie and Lionel took us to meet his family. First we walked about 10 blocks to Lionel's parents house where we met his mother, father and brother. They were all so friendly. Only Lionel's father was able to go along to the family dinner that night so after a brief chat and a tour of their beautiful open air home we piled into the family station wagon for a short drive to Grandfathers home. 

As an aside. Now is as good a time as any to mention the relative lack of cars in Singapore. Our hosts explained that they are an extremely expensive luxury. The cost of the car is approximately doubled by the need to also purchase a license for that vehicle to operate on the island. Additionally if you should want to take that vehicle downtown during the busiest times of the day you will also need to pay an additional fee. As Katie put it "The Singapore Government is very good at raising money."

(Holly) But really, can you imagine if everyone in Singapore had a car (~5.3 million people)? Even the population and land size alone, it would be a mess I am sure.

Unlike other countries though it's not doesn't fell like a bribe or corruption. As a tourist it seems like good value for the cost. Generally most of these policies are an economist's dream of using finacial incentive to push people out of behaviors that make life in a large city uncomfortable for the masses. No Spitting, don't smoke, stand on the correct side of the escalator, board the train from the center of the doorway exit out the sides.... Orderly behavior is expected and from what I understand enforced. But if the same things were expected around here I think people would be royally pissed off. 

Anyway. So we were in a very nice car on the way to Lionel's Grandfathers for Saturday evening dinner. We arrived and were greeted by the Burmese house maid and Lionel's family. Titles are important in Singapore so all the members are addressed with some formal pro-name like Aunty. We were told that Lionel's Grandfather can be a little feisty at times. As the family patriarch he makes the rules and everyone else abides. But he liked us and made sure that we were properly served refreshments and had everything we could want to eat. Though we really don't know exactly what he said since Lionel's Grandfather speaks no English. That does not stop him from enjoying WWF Wrestling as pre and post dinner activity. Kind of awesome. I hope I am that feisty in 60 years. Right Holly?

(Holly) Bring it on cowboy.

Here's some of what we had with Lionel's family 

fried bee hoon - rice vermicelli
Our tasty supper dish.

What's that in the distance.


(Nick) After dinner we caught the subway downtown and found Gummy Bears! It took some convincing to get Holly into this photo. But it was so worth it. The kids love this one.

(Holly) He picked me up and carried me over to the.. gummy bear-people? Because he's charming like that.

(Nick) Pretty girls and high class jewelry.

(Holly) A UW friend of Katie and Lionel, from BKK, was in Singapore for a jewelry show. She allowed Katie and I to try on some of her and her husband's original pieces.

(Nick) I can't even say it was dull. Holly didn't have a purse to hold and these was some of the most amazing jewels I've seen. The room wasn't much larger than a school cafeteria but the talent level was incredibly high. They mentioned that the day prior the largest diamond in the world had been shown there.  

 

The crew minus a photographer 

 

Our last stop of the night was a soccer bar off in a quiet part of downtown.

And then we were off again. 

And on a subway back home. Lionel describes the Singapore people as being similar to gophers. Audience members from the land of 10000 lakes take notice. They may have a better claim to the name. The underground subway tunnels layer atop each other and they go very very far down. 

(Holly) By morning we found ourselves in search of some local cuisine in a market not far from their place. As you can see it was a popular spot. Nick and I found a table to hold down while Katie and Lionel split off to find some dishes. I ended up convincing Nick to let me go so I could capture the scene.

(Nick) This was called a hawker market. As you may have noticed in Holly's blogs SE Asia has a lot of roadside food venders and open air markets. The same things are culturally important in Singapore however because the government has more strict food safety guidelines and zoning ordinances all the venders that in other places would be out in more open areas or food carts are brought together in one permanent place. 

(Nick) Holly has a thing for photos of hanging ducks... Call it a talent. Makes me hungry.

Plenty of fried food too.

(Holly) That morning coffee fix. I may not be a coffee drinker, but I knew just be taking a glance that it was going to be good.



Soon enough, we all found our way back to Nick and the table. We were treated to interesting and tasty dishes.

kaya toast

(Holly) This is a common breakfast side in Singapore. The inside is spread with a coconut jam. It typically contains egg and pandan. The toast can be garnished with a pat of butter. Pandan is a green leaf that is used in the cooking process, sweet unique vanilla-like flavor. The leaf itself is not eaten.

chwee kueh
Steamed rice flour cakes with salted radish. This dish can be topped with a sauce of choice.

(Nick) Honestly. I was there. It was good. I have no idea how Holly remembers all of this stuff. She's kind of amazing isn't she? ;)



chye tow kway - carrot cake

Carrot cake? Yes, a very popular breakfast dish in Singapore. The dish is made from steamed rice flour cakes, which are stir fried with egg, preserved radish, and seasonings. In the above there are tow different carrot cake dishes. The top dish is a carrot cake with a dark soy sauce. The flavors and texture were unique and pleasant. Trying these new foods was fun and the best part was that Lionel land Katie are foodies as well, able to answer most of my questions.

Soft cooked eggs - half-boiled egg?

These are usually cracked in a bowl and, the yolk is runny and the white is not yet solidified. Top with a dark soy sauce and ground pepper if desired.  I recall hearing that this dish goes great with kaya toast.



In the above photo you will note a bit of the table scene. This includes the morning cup of joe, carrot cake, sauces/condiments, and a cool coconut drink.  

(Nick) It's odd to type this in January and recall how hot it was there. But the cooling pink Happy Time coconut animal drink brings back warm memories.

After a healthy breakfast. Our guides showed us more of their town. Along with enough playful banter to keep things interesting.

(Holly) The morning was already a success after some local taste, then the bonus of footing through the wet market. It was interesting seeing the differences in availability of different spices, dried foods, produce, etc.



(Holly) It was a different experience seeing that the meat was in cases, not just sitting out on stainless steel counters taking in the elements.

 

(Holly) The fruit scene was interesting. The market fruit was in corporation boxes, something I've not seen in Thailand fresh markets. Lots of mouths to feed in Singapore.

Loads of fresh produce.

For reference a Singapore dollar is approximately $0.80 US.

(Nick) More food that I would eat. But have no idea what it would taste like. 

After some subway jumping fun.. We found Little India.

Little India. It's amazing how much color is in the clothing that woman and girls. Perhaps it was especially pronounced with the upcoming Deepavali holiday but it does make the scene even more beautiful and exotic.   

 Indian grocery store

 Chicken Bryani, Indian cusine

Kulfi - pistachio almond frozen dessert cups.

(Holly) I wonder Nick and Katie as kids ever imagined eating Indian ice cream in Singapore one day?
(Nick) If Lionel has not yet seen this picture.... Let's all please share.

Rather beautiful mosque don't you think.

 

 (Holly) umm.. I have no idea how he gets himself in these situations.

And he calls me a nut.

 Topping up his metro card. In confusion.

 How do you keep occupied while walking through terminals, waiting for the next train..

 iPhones, watching movies and playing games. Nearly every where you look.

(Nick) Once you've seen K-Pop you'll never want to look away either.
You may have seen this one. Almost 2 billion people already have.
If you hadn't seen that before just lie and say you have.
We're all cool here.
But it makes more sense if you watch this first. 
Right. Everyone clear?
I know you're confused.
The same thing happens with the Dakotas.
I should clarify.
These are from South Korea....

  In the evening K&L took us to a Hainese restaurant. The above were the starters to the meal.

otek otek - a type of fish cake, cooked in a banana leaf with spices, egg, coconut, and I forget what else.

 Green peas, peppers, and mushroom.

 Seafood dish. Calamari and vegetables.

(Nick) I love that in most of the restaurants we went to in Asia food was served family style. It makes it so much easier to try new things and in my opinion makes dining together much more fun.

 (Holly) Yes! Thank you. Nick you are really the only one I needed to convince of this.  It's one of my favorite aspects of Thai food culture. Everyone in the US ordering giant plate for themselves is really going to bother me when I go back (so I think). I'm going to be expecting that people will willingly let me try their dishes ;) Ha, or maybe Nick and I will just keep cooking our things per usual at home.

I love this picture. Feel free leave a comment speculating why.

 Hainese chicken. Chicken Rice. One of Lionels favorite dishes of all time.
The chicken is boiled in chicken broth and then you eat it with rice and a mixture of condiments including soy sauce and ginger. 

 The famous chicken rice. I shall give it it's own  close up. I got the impression it was a big deal. It was full of flavor.

The view inside the double helix bridge over Singapore harbor.

Super trees and a mile high boat. The buildings themselves are hotels as I understand. Under them is a Sands casino that is exclusively for tourists. Gambling is bad so Singapore does not allow those who reside permanently on the island to enter. Interesting don't you think.

Holly and I went wandering through downtown Singapore. Along the way we spotted these "trees' in the distance. We ended up wandering through the new botanical gardens.  



(Holly) Hey, baby!
(Nick) Artfully awkward.

(Nick) I knew that I wanted to get up to that big boat in the sky. The view was absolutely amazing.



 

Spider-Nick is at it again. 

 Yes, we found Indian food. It was no comparison to Penang. Buy ok.

Eventually we made our way back to Lionel and Katie's. We had a date with Lionel's parents that evening for dinner at their country club.

Off we go again.

Chicken Satay, rice cakes, and peanut sauce.

That just looks really good right now. This was a dish that Katie favored. We all had a taste.



Stir fired pork. This was really tasty.

Lionel's dad suggested ice cream for dessert. We were really full but a banana split did sound awfully good. I'm glad we took them up on the offer.

Lionel's parents treated us to the meal. Which was great. It was also interesting that the country club had two different menus as well. We wanted Asian food so we ate in the less formal restaurant area however the other dining section had a policy of more formal attire and served Westernn cuisine. Holly figured she'd prefer to wait for a home grown South Dakotan steak.

Katie presenting fun ways to pose with statues.

Eventually we all took part in the fun.

(Holly) If the shoe fits.. Ah, nope, sorry Nick.

(Nick) Dinner was delicious but the evening was young. Katie and Lionel suggested that we find a quiet place for a drink somewhere along the river. This is one of the places to be for nightlife in Singapore. Lots of people and spots to stop along the way. Katie mentioned one of the other main "must have" dishes of Singapore is the Chili Crab. But that really it was kind of a thing for tourists. We passed at least one restaurant packed with Westerners in lobster bibs.



All too soon is was time for us to be off. So little to do and so much time.

Or something like that.

Singapore has a very modern airport. Strangely the security checkpoints are right at the gates which sit behind a solid glass wall. The peanut butter that I had so easily brought through the KL airport felt heavier here. I worried our time together was limited.

Such a nice place. But they felt the need to confiscate my Malaysian peanut butter. Hollys sunscreen met a similar fate. It hurts to think about now. Let's move on. 

A bittersweet view. Another leg of our journey completed.

 Blue skies over SE Asia. We're on our way back to Thailand.